Game enthusiast, let's player and artist! I post my own art and writing here as well as fandom related things! (Icon by @n0rara) 27 | she/her | lesbian
Colonialism is an ongoing problem in the purebred dog world and i just wanna take as second to talk about the national dog breed of Israel, the Canaan dog. Because here’s the CKC’s blurb on them
I have no doubt and am not denying ancient Hebrews lived with these dogs, but the Canaan comes from a stock of landrace breed native across the Levant and it has also gone by names such as Bedouin Sheepdog or Palestinian Pariah Dog.
Organized breeding of the Canaan began in the 20th century from captured Palestinian dogs (i would also point to the wording of ‘redomesticating’ used here, implying the feral pariah dogs were in some way not domesticated, which i think is disingenuous phrasing.). If you look up the Canaan, most sources you see on them explicitly brand Canaans as an Israeli breed, neglecting or downplaying any history they have with any of the other countless peoples or cultures in the region this breed has coexisted with across millenia. There’s even an archeological site with ancient remains of canaan-like dogs was found in Ashkelon, located just 13 miles from the Gaza strip.
The developer of the 'modern’ purebred Canaan was “ardent zionist” Rudolphina Menzel, who trained attack dogs for the IDF:
What really gets me about this story is how this native landrace breed was taken and trained to guard colonial settlements from the very people they lived alongside, there is something so twisted about it..
This is unfortunately nothing new in the world of dog fancy. There are many instances of explorers and settlers importing exotic new dogs from their travels, establishing a breed club, and then claiming stewardship over said breed without any involvement from the local peoples they took or bought them from. I’m not sure what to leave this on, i just think more people should be aware of these 'softer’ forms of colonialism and how domestic animals can play a part in colonialism and nationalist narratives.
Anyway, long live the Palestinian pariah dog/ Bedouin sheepdog!
Why is it necessary that a piece of art “condemns” or “normalizes” something. Is it not enough for art to say “here are some fucked up people in some fucked up situations for your enjoyment”? The art doesn’t have to judge them and neither do you. It’s for your enjoyment.
“This art is Acceptable because it portrays the bad thing as BAD” “this art is Forbidden because it portrays the bad thing as GOOD” well fuckers I’m engaging with art that portrays the bad thing as A Spectacle. Come engage with me.
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